The Coalition and Labor are in the crosshairs as protesters prepare to rally against the ''callous and inhumane'' treatment of asylum seekers at Parliament House on Monday.
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Organisers are expecting hundreds of protesters to gather for the rally, which coincides with a Labor Party caucus meeting to decide whether to support the Greens push to ban temporary protection visas. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said voters were ashamed of the ''callous and inhumane'' policies forced upon people seeking asylum in Australia.
''The cruelty towards refugees who have fled war and abuse is being done simply for politics, nothing more,'' she said. The protest would not only send a message to the Abbott government, but also to Labor as the party decided its position on the Greens' motion.
Senator Hanson-Young will be joined by several speakers, including Tamil Refugee Council member Aran Mylvaganam and Mohammad Ali Baqiri, an Afghan refugee who, under the Howard government was held on Nauru.
John Minns, from the Canberra Refugee Action Collective, said at least 1000 people were expected to gather on the lawns of Parliament House from 11am.
Separate protests will be held at the Papua New Guinea high commission at 3pm, as well as a vigil at the ASIO headquarters at 9am.
